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American Morning
90-Second Pop, Culture Watch
Aired November 10, 2003 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time once again for "90-Second Pop," our regular look at pop culture with what we like to call our AMERICAN MORNING idols.
Humorist Andy Borowitz joins us this morning. Toure, the contributor editor for "Rolling Stone" magazine. And B.J. Sigesmund, a staff writer for "US Weekly" is here as well.
Nice to see you guys.
ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Good morning. Idols (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I hope not.
O'BRIEN: You could be Ruben.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: I'm loving the glasses. What's that about? You know what? Can you guys get a shot of that? Turn your head to the side. They have no -- what do you call that?
TOURE, "ROLLING STONE": No lenses. These are the Morpheus glasses. They made 1,500 of them.
O'BRIEN: How do they stay on?
TOURE: They have a nice little clip in the middle. You get used to it after a moment.
O'BRIEN: And they're Morpheus, because, of course, this is from the "Matrix."
TOURE: From the "Matrix." Love the glasses, hated the movie. Oh, my god. Was it awful or what?
O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk about the...
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Yes, the second one was lame, too.
TOURE: Oh...
SIGESMUND: I wasn't expecting it to be any better.
TOURE: After the third one, the second one looks good, like it was nothing...
O'BRIEN: But it made $50 million this weekend. SIGESMUND: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That's great, isn't it?
SIGESMUND: Well, you know what, Soledad, though? It made 50 percent of the money that the second one made. This is tragic, really, for Warner Brothers. But they're spinning it in a different way. They're spinning it as this is the biggest global opening ever, $200 million. The thing is they opened it in 109 countries or something like that on...
TOURE: Yes, 10,000 screens?
SIGESMUND: Yes, 18,000 screens. So, of course, they're going to have the biggest global opening. But domestically this did not do well at all.
O'BRIEN: So, "Matrix 4" is not going to happen.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: This was terrible. I mean, you know, like, why is he going to the "Wizard of Oz?" Why are his eyes ruined and he develops the force from the "Star Wars?" Why aren't the...
SIGESMUND: Why was the Oracle a different woman suddenly?
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: I'm living proof -- I'm living proof that you can miss all three "Matrix" films...
O'BRIEN: And still live a productive life.
BOROWITZ: ... and still lead a full, productive live.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about some other movies. Since you obviously hate the "Matrix," let's move on. "Elf," I heard that it was great. Was it...
SIGESMUND: Yes, "Elf" did really well. It was kids and families who went to see this movie. It's very sweet. Will Farrell is terrific.
O'BRIEN: "Brother Bear," I haven't really heard that much about it.
SIGESMUND: Yes, it's another, you know, kids movie, animated. It's the time of year where parents are spending a lot more time with their kids, so a movie like -- you know, the rest of the year they just ignore them. But "Brother Bear" -- as you get close to the holidays...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: OK, try to dig your way out of this. What? Ow! Hi. All right, so I've been busy lately. I haven't had time to spend with my children. All right, "Love Actually," which is this British romantic comedy.
SIGESMUND: Right. A British romantic comedy, it opened on, like, 550 theaters. They're hoping that it spreads more through word of mouth. It did decently well in most theaters. I thought it was very enjoyable. If you liked Hugh Grant in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," you'll love this.
BOROWITZ: And they're working on Love Actually Reloaded now. I'm excited about it. They're shooting now.
O'BRIEN: Cool. Looking forward to that. And it's going to come out in three weeks.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Andy, let's talk about TV, major docu-dramas last night. We had Jessica Lynch and Elizabeth Smart. Did you watch the Jessica Lynch?
BOROWITZ: You know, I didn't. But I thought it was kind of a challenge to do the Jessica Lynch story since no one knows what the Jessica Lynch story is, including Jessica Lynch who says that she doesn't remember the Jessica Lynch Story. So, I mean -- but, you know, this is sweeps, so nothing will deter a network from ripping something from the headlines.
O'BRIEN: Apparently they made her less heroic than I think many people thought might be the approach.
TOURE: Well, I mean, she is their new sort of icon, right? Like this is what's going and (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But it's not the story that we originally sold.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: And just as John Walker Lindh is sort of the anti-Jessica Lynch, he was not as bad as we were originally sold to be. So, the Bushes are consistently giving us, you know, the message they want us to have and the real message is getting out.
O'BRIEN: For a young woman who is from a very small town, the middle of nowhere which she freely admits, a brilliant PR strategy. She really said nothing, had no comment until she released the movie, the book, the interviews with the three networks and all the magazines.
SIGESMUND: Yes. Am I the only one who is sort of grossed out by the PR blitz of this all?
O'BRIEN: It's a little odd.
TOURE: Yes.
SIGESMUND: How different really is it from the Britney Spears PR blitz that we're experiencing now...
TOURE: Right, right.
SIGESMUND: ... leading up to the new album? Yes, the book, the big interview tomorrow on ABC. There are two books actually...
O'BRIEN: Right.
SIGESMUND: The TV movie last night.
O'BRIEN: Never ending.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: And CBS had Elizabeth Smart, which is noteworthy, because that's the only time in the last week that anyone has seen the word "CBS" and "Smart."
O'BRIEN: Let's turn and talk about Jessica Simpson, because, you know, being a complete idiot can completely pay off. I mean, here's a girl who would -- she would say she's not the sharpest tack in the tack box.
SIGESMUND: Right.
TOURE: But clearly not as dumb as we thought.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.
TOURE: Because she is monetizing her image to the tune of, what, 20 million now?
O'BRIEN: Tell me about the series on ABC.
BOROWITZ: She would say she's not the smartest tack in the shed.
O'BRIEN: We're mixing metaphors there, right.
BOROWITZ: That's what she would say.
O'BRIEN: Tell me about the series.
TOURE: Well, I mean...
SIGESMUND: ABC has offered to do a series with her. They're very excited about it. It's going to be -- yes, they haven't really said what it's going to be yet.
BOROWITZ: Well, apparently the buzz is she's going to play a 23- year-old woman who forgets her lines and walks into walls. That's what I think is the concept.
TOURE: I think this is the perfect neo-Marilyn. She's, like, blond. She's a little stupid. She's cute with the whole... SIGESMUND: And she owns it too.
TOURE: Yes.
SIGESMUND: She's happy to be stupid. She's happy to be that girl, you know.
TOURE: Yes.
BOROWITZ: I wonder how women feel about that, though.
SIGESMUND: There's another show, too. Hillary Duff is getting a reality show on a different network. It's like there's a new stage parent out there, the mother of a pop star who can get her kid a reality show.
TOURE: Right. But, I mean, you don't do -- I mean, Hillary Duff, I mean, Jessica, they're not great as singers. They didn't do that well. I mean, her last album "Rolling Stone" said has lost $1 million for her.
O'BRIEN: It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. The personality...
TOURE: But the TV star, as a TV star, now she can do it.
O'BRIEN: She's going to do great. We're all going to watch, and then we're all going to sit on this couch and talk about it. I am very confident.
BOROWITZ: We're waiting, we're waiting.
O'BRIEN: As always, you guys, thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 10, 2003 - 07:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time once again for "90-Second Pop," our regular look at pop culture with what we like to call our AMERICAN MORNING idols.
Humorist Andy Borowitz joins us this morning. Toure, the contributor editor for "Rolling Stone" magazine. And B.J. Sigesmund, a staff writer for "US Weekly" is here as well.
Nice to see you guys.
ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST: Good morning. Idols (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I hope not.
O'BRIEN: You could be Ruben.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: I'm loving the glasses. What's that about? You know what? Can you guys get a shot of that? Turn your head to the side. They have no -- what do you call that?
TOURE, "ROLLING STONE": No lenses. These are the Morpheus glasses. They made 1,500 of them.
O'BRIEN: How do they stay on?
TOURE: They have a nice little clip in the middle. You get used to it after a moment.
O'BRIEN: And they're Morpheus, because, of course, this is from the "Matrix."
TOURE: From the "Matrix." Love the glasses, hated the movie. Oh, my god. Was it awful or what?
O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk about the...
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": Yes, the second one was lame, too.
TOURE: Oh...
SIGESMUND: I wasn't expecting it to be any better.
TOURE: After the third one, the second one looks good, like it was nothing...
O'BRIEN: But it made $50 million this weekend. SIGESMUND: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That's great, isn't it?
SIGESMUND: Well, you know what, Soledad, though? It made 50 percent of the money that the second one made. This is tragic, really, for Warner Brothers. But they're spinning it in a different way. They're spinning it as this is the biggest global opening ever, $200 million. The thing is they opened it in 109 countries or something like that on...
TOURE: Yes, 10,000 screens?
SIGESMUND: Yes, 18,000 screens. So, of course, they're going to have the biggest global opening. But domestically this did not do well at all.
O'BRIEN: So, "Matrix 4" is not going to happen.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: This was terrible. I mean, you know, like, why is he going to the "Wizard of Oz?" Why are his eyes ruined and he develops the force from the "Star Wars?" Why aren't the...
SIGESMUND: Why was the Oracle a different woman suddenly?
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: I'm living proof -- I'm living proof that you can miss all three "Matrix" films...
O'BRIEN: And still live a productive life.
BOROWITZ: ... and still lead a full, productive live.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about some other movies. Since you obviously hate the "Matrix," let's move on. "Elf," I heard that it was great. Was it...
SIGESMUND: Yes, "Elf" did really well. It was kids and families who went to see this movie. It's very sweet. Will Farrell is terrific.
O'BRIEN: "Brother Bear," I haven't really heard that much about it.
SIGESMUND: Yes, it's another, you know, kids movie, animated. It's the time of year where parents are spending a lot more time with their kids, so a movie like -- you know, the rest of the year they just ignore them. But "Brother Bear" -- as you get close to the holidays...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: OK, try to dig your way out of this. What? Ow! Hi. All right, so I've been busy lately. I haven't had time to spend with my children. All right, "Love Actually," which is this British romantic comedy.
SIGESMUND: Right. A British romantic comedy, it opened on, like, 550 theaters. They're hoping that it spreads more through word of mouth. It did decently well in most theaters. I thought it was very enjoyable. If you liked Hugh Grant in "Four Weddings and a Funeral," you'll love this.
BOROWITZ: And they're working on Love Actually Reloaded now. I'm excited about it. They're shooting now.
O'BRIEN: Cool. Looking forward to that. And it's going to come out in three weeks.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Andy, let's talk about TV, major docu-dramas last night. We had Jessica Lynch and Elizabeth Smart. Did you watch the Jessica Lynch?
BOROWITZ: You know, I didn't. But I thought it was kind of a challenge to do the Jessica Lynch story since no one knows what the Jessica Lynch story is, including Jessica Lynch who says that she doesn't remember the Jessica Lynch Story. So, I mean -- but, you know, this is sweeps, so nothing will deter a network from ripping something from the headlines.
O'BRIEN: Apparently they made her less heroic than I think many people thought might be the approach.
TOURE: Well, I mean, she is their new sort of icon, right? Like this is what's going and (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But it's not the story that we originally sold.
(CROSSTALK)
TOURE: And just as John Walker Lindh is sort of the anti-Jessica Lynch, he was not as bad as we were originally sold to be. So, the Bushes are consistently giving us, you know, the message they want us to have and the real message is getting out.
O'BRIEN: For a young woman who is from a very small town, the middle of nowhere which she freely admits, a brilliant PR strategy. She really said nothing, had no comment until she released the movie, the book, the interviews with the three networks and all the magazines.
SIGESMUND: Yes. Am I the only one who is sort of grossed out by the PR blitz of this all?
O'BRIEN: It's a little odd.
TOURE: Yes.
SIGESMUND: How different really is it from the Britney Spears PR blitz that we're experiencing now...
TOURE: Right, right.
SIGESMUND: ... leading up to the new album? Yes, the book, the big interview tomorrow on ABC. There are two books actually...
O'BRIEN: Right.
SIGESMUND: The TV movie last night.
O'BRIEN: Never ending.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: And CBS had Elizabeth Smart, which is noteworthy, because that's the only time in the last week that anyone has seen the word "CBS" and "Smart."
O'BRIEN: Let's turn and talk about Jessica Simpson, because, you know, being a complete idiot can completely pay off. I mean, here's a girl who would -- she would say she's not the sharpest tack in the tack box.
SIGESMUND: Right.
TOURE: But clearly not as dumb as we thought.
O'BRIEN: Oh, yes.
TOURE: Because she is monetizing her image to the tune of, what, 20 million now?
O'BRIEN: Tell me about the series on ABC.
BOROWITZ: She would say she's not the smartest tack in the shed.
O'BRIEN: We're mixing metaphors there, right.
BOROWITZ: That's what she would say.
O'BRIEN: Tell me about the series.
TOURE: Well, I mean...
SIGESMUND: ABC has offered to do a series with her. They're very excited about it. It's going to be -- yes, they haven't really said what it's going to be yet.
BOROWITZ: Well, apparently the buzz is she's going to play a 23- year-old woman who forgets her lines and walks into walls. That's what I think is the concept.
TOURE: I think this is the perfect neo-Marilyn. She's, like, blond. She's a little stupid. She's cute with the whole... SIGESMUND: And she owns it too.
TOURE: Yes.
SIGESMUND: She's happy to be stupid. She's happy to be that girl, you know.
TOURE: Yes.
BOROWITZ: I wonder how women feel about that, though.
SIGESMUND: There's another show, too. Hillary Duff is getting a reality show on a different network. It's like there's a new stage parent out there, the mother of a pop star who can get her kid a reality show.
TOURE: Right. But, I mean, you don't do -- I mean, Hillary Duff, I mean, Jessica, they're not great as singers. They didn't do that well. I mean, her last album "Rolling Stone" said has lost $1 million for her.
O'BRIEN: It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. The personality...
TOURE: But the TV star, as a TV star, now she can do it.
O'BRIEN: She's going to do great. We're all going to watch, and then we're all going to sit on this couch and talk about it. I am very confident.
BOROWITZ: We're waiting, we're waiting.
O'BRIEN: As always, you guys, thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
